Tandoori Butter Chicken

Serving Size: 4

Summary:
I first tried this when Meg made it for our cooking club. It was so delicious I had to get the recipe. The original recipe comes from taste.com.au, I have added the baby spinach to introduce some greens for a more balanced meal.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Welly Boot Extra Virgin Olive Oil
500 g chicken thigh, cubed
3 tablespoons Tandoori paste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
375m l can lite evaporated milk
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
15 g butter
150g Baby Spinach, washed and drained
Steamed rice to serve

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a frying pan (with a lid), add chicken and cook for 5-8 minutes or until nicely browned. Add Tandoori paste and tomato paste and stir until chicken is coated.

2. Combine the evaporated milk, sugar and cornflour and pour over chicken, mixing well. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened. Add butter and stir until melted.

3. Turn off the heat. Tip in the baby spinach and pop the lid on the pan. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. The residual heat from the pan should be enough to slightly wilt the spinach.

4. Stir through the spinach, garnish with flaked almonds. Serve with steamed basmati rice.

Notes:
The best tandoori paste I have found (and the one that Meg turned me on to) is "Maharaja's Choice" brand available from Coles. Sharwoods is also pretty nice :)

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This is a pretty family friendly recipe. But you can adjust the heat by adding more or less Tandoori paste. eg 1 tablespoon = mild, 2 tablespoons = medium, 3tablespoons = hot (for little kiddies anyway). Our kids like to mix in some plain yoghurt to turn the heat down if needed.

{WORKING MUM TIMESAVER TIPS}:

• Ask your butcher to dice the chicken thigh for you when you purchase it.
• Some supermarkets (such as Woolworths) have pre-cooked rice in their ready meals section.
• Try the pouches of microwaveable rice (such as Uncle Ben's or Sunrice). They cook in 90 seconds!